Lost hunter in the cypress

[john l]

it aint free to fly'em though

With as much time as the park service spends flying around there harassing hunters they should have no problem flying for a few more hours. I'm with you Kempster that makes no damn sense at all. He should stand out like a sore thumb at night.

[kemster99]

it aint free to fly'em though

flying them during the day time. ain't no price on a human life. all resources are utilized for a period of time. the more time that passes, resources are released to do other stuff.

[bodysnatcher]

Look at what they spent on chasing that ballon boy. Get out there and to your job. JMO

[DONY1]

Look at what they spent on chasing that ballon boy. Get out there and to your job. JMO

x2

[flhuntfish]

Every time im at camp and pull up theres always game warden helicopters flyin around (given our camp is 5 acres and borders Jumper Creek WMA). Always pull out the scanner and sure enough its game wardens almost always. I bet they are flyin down there right now trying to find him.

[john l]

I'd have to say this probably won't end good. You can hear I-75 from the oil pad camp which is much further away then were he was supposedly last seen. So that would leave me to believe 1: he's already dead 2: someone dumped him there and this is a big run around One thing I will tell you is I sure as hell wouldn't want to spend the night out there!!!! Between the panthers, the bears, the mosquitoes, the snakes, the gators, and every other critter you stand much of a chance out there for more than a day or two. I'd have half that forest on fire by now.

[flhuntfish]

I'd have half that forest on fire by now.

+1 to that lol

[trouttouter]

I'd have half that forest on fire by now.

Same here. I'm heading out. Hope to read some good news tomorrow morning on that Naples News page...

[flhuntfish]

Any new developments?

[trouttouter]

Don't think the pack of cigs means a darn thing.... Seen all kinds of crap in trees.


COLLIER COUNTY — POSTED at 11:45 a.m.

Searchers found a pack of cigarettes tucked into the bark of a palmetto tree, in area away from the direction other clues appear to be leading, officials said.

The Marlboro Lights were discovered roughly half a mile north of a previous clue discovered Tuesday, a discarded mosquito repellent device.

Other clues have been found southeast of the device, including a boot print, a "human indication" by a search dog and whistling and shouting noises reported by several teams. Mosch was also last seen in that area, and the hunters who reported him missing recalled distress gunshots coming from nearby.

Still, the placement of the cigarettes was telling, said Sgt. Bob Brown, a supervisor with the Collier County Sheriff's Office Emergency Response Team.

"So someone wanted to keep them from getting wet," Brown said. "That tells us someone was there recently. Whether that was him or not, we don't know yet."

The area is frequently hunted.

Marlboro lights weren't Mosch's preferred brand, Brown said. He also noted that Mosch would have needed to cross chest-high water to get from the area where he was heard firing gunshots to the tree where the cigarettes were found.

Two out of three search teams are still working in the southeast portion of a 1.3-mile-by-1.3-mile area north of I-75 and east of Turner River Road. Brown said the area seems more promising.

The whistling or shouting noises, heard late Wednesday, were the latest clue before the cigarettes. Brown said the noises were not described as moaning, despite previous reports. He also said the search teams may have just been hearing one another.

Deputies closed a portion of I-75 to silence the area, and they blasted a loud-speaker message for Mosch, all to no avail.

Today, roughly 60 people from various local, state and federal agencies are participating in the search.

Those in the southeast area will return around noon.

Brown said searchers remain optimistic about finding Mosch, despite "diminishing returns." He said the hunter was capable of finding water, and that the abundance of foliage offered shade from the heat.

"We're unturning every stone we can to find him," he said.

POSTED at 9:15 a.m.

Search teams will return to the southeastern portion of Bear Island, which has already yielded several clues, in hopes of discovering Mosch today, a Big Cypress spokesman said.

"We still remain optimistic that even though he is weakened, he is in the window of survivability," said Bob DeGross, spokesman for the preserve.

Two search teams will focus on the area, about 1.5 miles east of Turner River Road and roughly half a mile north of I-75, DeGross said. Searchers found a mosquito repellent device about 1,200 yards east of Turner River Road on Tuesday and a boot print in the mud farther out on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, two search groups reported hearing moaning around the area.

"That's the last evidence we have, and so that's where we're really starting to put people in," DeGross said.

Searchers are using helicopters to drop team members in the area, a move that could save searchers a long, tiring hike, DeGross said. The process is lengthy, as each copter can only transport one or two people at a time.

A third search team will move farther to the north, DeGross said, as a backup in case Mosch moved in that direction.

Each team comprises 10 to 15 searchers, among them sheriff's deputies from local agencies, paramedics, and riflemen prepared to kill any threatening animals. The terrain, wet and thick with brush, is a haven for alligators and snakes.

Search dogs are also part of each group. Bloodhounds are being used to detect ground scents, while another breed is being used to search for airborne odors.

The search teams move in a rough V-shape, DeGross said, with everyone staying in sight of one another.

DeGross also said that the hunters who reported Mosch missing have remained to help in the search. The group, which has ranged in size from five to 10 hunters, is leasing the Hingsong camp.

"They've continued to cooperate throughout the whole event," he said.

POSTED at 7:45 a.m.

The sun is up and the search is back on for Jamey Mosch, the 30-year-old hunter missing in the Everglades.

More than 60 hours have now passed since Mosch was last seen walking into the woods, and rescuers are returning to the Bear Island are of Big Cypress National Preserve for another day of scouring thick brush and high waters.

Two days of searching have yielded several clues, including a ThermaCELL mosquito repellent device believed to be owned by Mosch and a boot print in a muddy area.

Late Wednesday afternoon, two groups of searchers believed they heard a moaning sound near the I-75 corridor. An interstate lane was closed around the area, but nothing was ever found.

Authorities on Wednesday said they "remain optimistic."

The search will begin after a morning meeting. A Collier County Sheriff's deputy said he expected at least the same number of people searching as on Wednesday. The search area has focused on 1.3-mile-by-1.3-mile square in the area of Bear Island, a brush-thick region north of I-75 and east of Turner River Road.

So far, about 40 people have searched on land and by air. Around 30 people have worked in support of the search group. Helicopters and search dogs have also been employed in the efforts.

Mosch was last seen at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, after his hunting party said he left their private camp to go it alone just southeast of the camp. The group called 911 that evening, when Mosch hadn't returned to the camp. They told a dispatcher they heard him fire gunshots into the air throughout the day, and that it sounded as if he were moving farther away from the camp.

[trouttouter]

POSTED at 1 p.m.

Rescue crews have found two new pairs of boot prints believed to missing hunter Jamey Mosch. The prints were found north of a canal parallel with Alligator Alley and a mile east of Turner River Road. The prints appear to be fresh and heading east toward Turner River Road, according to Michelle Batten, a spokeswoman with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.

“We think the probability is that they could be his,” Batten said.

Authorities will be shutting down Alligator Alley in this area around 2 p.m. for helicopter to land. Teams of dogs and an airboat will be searching the area.

**I think they meant the prints are heading west toward Turner River Road...

[flhuntfish]

**I think they meant the prints are heading west toward Turner River Road...

Yea when i read that i paused and had to think about it lol...im pretty sure they meant west too

[trouttouter]

Dude is still missing. Sounds like he is hoofin' it back the right direction.
____________________________________________________________________

Authorities shut down the Alligator Alley portion of Interstate 75 four times Thursday afternoon as helicopters dropped off search and rescue teams near mile-marker 75, where they believe lost hunter Jamey Mosch may be located.

The move was prompted by the discovery earlier in the day of two pairs of boot prints north of the canal running parallel to the interstate, and about a half-mile to a mile east of Turner River Road. The boot prints appeared to be headed west.

"Those footprints those two teams found are our best hope of finding this guy," Cpl. John Borchers of the Collier County Sheriff's Office told the gathered rescuers.

"Hopefully he's on his way back to Turner River, and we can pick him up," Borchers said.

A.J. Maynard and Pam Steelman of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were the first off the helicopters. They said they were looking for any sign of Mosch; a track or an unnatural disturbance.

They've both rescued people from the Everglades before.

"We've found them four days later, and they've been fine," Maynard said.

The news of Mosch's disappearance has been a concern in his home town of Elmira, N..Y, near Ithaca, said Mosch's longtime friend, Keith Gustin.

Gustin said his Facebook page has been flooded with well-wishers, and he's receiving hundreds of phone calls a day from friends trying to get the latest information. Mosch was well-liked and had a lot of friends in his hometown, Gustin said.

Gustin said his mood has swung from optimism to pessimism as the week drags on.

"We're trying to stay positive," he said. "It's a rollercoaster ride. It really is."

Gustin wonders why his friend, who is an experienced hunter, hasn't used some of his outdoorsman skills to alert rescuers to his wherabouts. Why, for instance, hasn't he started a fire? Why hasn't he been following the stars?

"Maybe everything isn't what it seems," Gustin said.

[flhuntfish]

Hes gotta be close to something. Either 75 or Turner River Rd

[Cr0ck1]

his lime disease has made him go crazy.. thats what it does. he might be right by the hiway and not even know it.